While driving through the streets and cities of America, it’s interesting to try to match the names of the cities to the religious and social orientation of the area. I am always amused when I see biblical names of towns and cities such as Bethlehem, Jericho, Dothan, Beth-El, Goshen, Hebron, Lebanon, and even Jerusalem. A Jew can almost feel as though he is  in Israel even when in the diaspora!  Perhaps there is a subconscious reasoning behind the names we see in the United States as a small reminder of the original cities in Eretz Yisrael. It may not be so far-fetched to reason that these names were chosen for the benefit of Jews, strangers in a foreign land, to help us remember our roots.

Interestingly, as I drove in Israel this past summer, I took note of a sign on the road near Ben Gurion airport that read: “No exit from Kibbutz Galuyot”. Many are familiar with the concept of a ‘kibbutz’ as a type or style of communal living. Kibbutz Galuyot, loosely translated, means the ‘Gathering of Israel’ or the ‘Ingathering of the Exiles’, also known as Ingathering of the Jewish Diaspora. It is the biblical promise of Devarim 30:1-5 given by Moshe to the Bnei Yisrael prior to their entrance into the land of Israel. He foresaw that the people of Israel would sin in their new land and would therefore be exiled. However, he also foresaw the people's return to their homeland. During the days of the Babylonian exile, writings of the prophets Yeshayahu and Yechezkel encouraged the people of Israel with a promise of a future gathering of the exiles returning to the land of Israel. The continual hope for a return of the Israelite exiles to the land has been in the hearts of Jews  since the destruction of the Second Temple. The Jewish people have been in golus/exile for more years than we want to think about. This two-thousand-year exile was not the first.  Chazal teach that there are four Galuyot the Jews will endure Babylonian, Persian – Purim - the threat of our annihilation, Greek - Chanukah, and Roman which continues to this very day. Prior to the Jews living in Eretz Yisrael an exile was foretold by Hashem to Avraham Avinu that his children would be exiled.

The road sign “No exit from Kibbutz Galuyos” is letting the driver know that from this vantage point it will not be possible  to get to the kibbutz. A slightly different spin on the wording of the sign can be viewed not only as the kibbutz itself but rather that there is no escape from the ingathering of the exiles. In the tenth benediction, we ask that God “sound the great shofar” and “raise the banner” to gather the exiled Jews from around the globe and to return all of us to the land of Israel. The use of the shofar and the banner to signal the return of those exiled are themes in the Navi Yeshayahu 27:13 and 11:12, respectively.

We ask that God gather our dispersed from the “four corners of the Earth” –another quote from Yishayahu 11:12. Israel is the place towards which we would have Him gather us. The Midrash Tanchuma describes Israel as the center of the world. Furthermore, Jerusalem is in the center of Israel, the Temple is in the center of Jerusalem, and the Holy of Holies containing the Ark is in the center of the Temple. Accordingly, the focal point of the “four corners of the Earth” is not only our land, but ultimately the location of our Temple, the site of our service to God. No matter where a Jew will be, when Moshiach comes we cannot exit out of the system that will bring all Jews back to Israel.

There is a famous debate with regard to understanding a law based upon a verse in this week’s parsha that alludes to a different understanding of where the diaspora boundaries are to be determined.

In this week’s Parsha Lech L’cha the Torah states in Bereishis 15:13: “Vayomer L’Avram Yadoa Teidah Ki Ger Yihyeh Zaracha B’Eretz Lo Lahem, Va’Avadoom V’Inu Osam Arba Meos Shana”. “And God said to Avram, know for sure that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs for 400 years”. The land that Hashem told Avraham about his descendants being slaves was the land of Egypt. There is a law or a Mitzva prohibiting a Jew to live in Egypt. A person is permitted to tour and vacation in Mitzrayim but is forbidden to move there permanently.  The Rambam Maimonidies in Hilchos Melachim 5:7 states: “it is permitted for a Jew to dwell/live any place in the world except for the land of Egypt”. Following this law, Hilchos Melachim  5:8 it states: “it is permitted to return to Egypt for business and trade, but one is not permitted to remain there. Maimonidies continues, stating: “it appears to me that if a Jewish king conquered the land of Egypt through the direction of the high court, then we would be permitted to live in Egypt.” The Rogatchavor, Rov Yosef Rosen asks what is the novella in that. Isn’t it true that any land a king of Israel conquers through the order of the Beis Din has the same status as Eretz Yisrael proper? The same law applies to the expanding of the borders and annexing land that borders Israel.  Those lands would also become part of Eretz Yisrael itself.  Therefore, in the case of conquering Egypt, it should be permissible to live there because it is no longer considered Egypt but rather now would be part of Eretz Yisrael!

From here the Rogatchover proves that Egypt will never be sanctified with the sanctity and kedusha of Eretz Yisrael, rather the Jewish people are permitted to dwell there when captured. Rav Avrohom Kook in his sefer Mishpat Tzedek disagrees and maintains that under those circumstances even Egypt would be infused with the Kedusha/holiness of Israel if conquered according to Jewish law. Rav Kook says this is the novella of the Rambam. The Rogatchover explains the law of the Rambam differently based upon our verse here in Lech L’cha.  When the passuk states “Ki Ger Yihyeh Zaracha B’Eretz Lo Lahem” -  “that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs” has double-worded language. The word ‘ger’ means a foreigner, so is  ‘in a land that is not theirs’ repetitive? “Rather,” he explains that the repetition of the concept teaches us the following: Hashem is telling Avraham that the Jews will be foreigners in a land that will never become theirs. Even if we capture and conquer the land according to Jewish law,  the land will never be incorporated into the land of Eretz Yisrael.

The previous discussion is about the first time the Jewish people had to leave Canaan and end up exiled in Egypt. Hashem tells Avraham we would have to endure this for a time that according to Chazal was cut down from 400 to 210 years. Today we are in the last and the longest of the exiles in Jewish history. We have certainly paid our due, let us all hope and pray that Moshiach is on his way and we will all return speedily in our day.

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky